Night

We fear the darkness,
the danger hidden in the shadows--
sense a lurking menace
keeping nocturnal vigil,
just beyond the edge of sight.
We hear the creak of the stairs,
the shrill siren in the distance,
the moaning of the wind,
or worst, a terrifying silence.
And then come the uneasy sleep,
the haunting dreams,
the aching awareness that
a final darkness awaits.
But this, too, is ours:
the moonlight on a lover's face,
the silver rainfall in a yellow streetlight,
the little bulb in the hall to guide
our sleepy steps,
the candles reflected in the wine,
the sky littered with a million stars,
the longed-for face
that lights up our dreams.
Night
is just a different kind
of light.

--Timothy Haut, March 17, 2016